Honoring Fayetteville High School Students

The Fayetteville City Council unanimously adopted a resolution declaring this Friday as Fayetteville Bulldog Day and encouraging citizens to wear purple and white in honor of the high school football team winning the state football championship. That's fine, I suppose. The council in the past has also resolved to honor the gymnastics team, the golf team, the cheer squad, and the band for various activities.

Our high school students also deserve recognition in honor of their more important and meaningful accomplishments that will make a real difference in their lives and those of others. Those students named National Merit Scholars, participating in Quiz Bowl competition, writing for the literary magazine, winning debate tournaments, and earning other scholastic honors and scholarships should be deemed worthy of a resolution, as should the students who just last month collected and donated more than 11 tons of food to the Ozark Food Bank.

Tomorrow night, the Fayetteville High School Student Council is holding a vigil and will sleep in cardboard boxes in front of the school to raise funds and increase awareness of the problems facing the homeless, including many of their fellow students. This project is in its 10th year, and the students have generated thousands of dollars for the school district's homeless program. The students, who plan to stay outside throughout the night and continue the vigil on Friday until the goal of $13,000 is reached, invite you to join them.

We are proud of those many students who volunteer their time and talents in various ways to make ours a better community for everyone. Let us all Resolve to honor, encourage, and appreciate them.